Chris Martin & Jennifer Lawrence - Is She Too Young?

Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow moved on, but what age is appropriate when it comes to dating?

It was no secret that front man and lead singer of Coldplay, Chris Martin and A-list actress Gwyneth Paltrow divorced after being married for ten years. They formally announced their "conscious uncoupling" on Gwyneth's blog Goop. Conscious uncoupling is actually a professional phrase referencing and offering a positive spin to the dissolution of a relationship and not some made up phrase for celebrity relationship status.

However, what is coming to a surprise is how quickly both Chris and Gwyneth are moving on shortly after their divorce. Hollywood rumors are reporting that 37 year old Chris is dating the young and free, 24 year old Jennifer Lawrence. From the outside, Jennifer and Gwyneth are seemingly very different from one another and apparently that is the main reason why rocker Chris Martin is extremely attracted to her in the first place.

Gwyneth isn't crying over spilt milk either though. She's been linked to Glee co-creator Brad Falchuk. Falchuk was also in a ten year marriage and that had come to a halt in March. He's been seen out with Gwyneth ever since. Did the flames of this romance start when Gwen was guest stared in a handful of episodes of Glee?

What about Jennifer's on again and off again boyfriend Nicholas Hoult. Is he crying over the loss of Jennifer? Apparently not, he's moved on to a romantic relationship with Kristen Stewart, the mega star of Twilight. They have gotten close from working on the sci-fi movie Equals and have been spotted spending lots of quality time together off screens as well.

Everyone is caught up in the midst of Chris and Jennifer's new romantic relationship. However, there has not been much buzz on their 13 year age difference. Is a larger age gap amongst celebrities that are dating more acceptable than the average person?

For example, 68-year old actor Michael Douglas and his lovely wife Catherine Zeta Jones is 25 years his senior. Harrison Ford and Claista Flockhart are 22 years apart with Ford sitting at 71 years old. Another famous and odd situation would be Celine Dion and Rene Angelil who met when Celine was a tender age of 12 years old are now are married and have a 26-year age gap between them.

Besides a large age gap in a relationship, what are other things that could be challenging in order for the relationship to be successful? One prominent obstacle would be, "Are you in the same place in life where your goals align?"

For example, if someone that is 18 years old is dating someone that is 33 years old, their goals and even daily life are much different. The 18 year olds goal could be focusing on getting into a great college, traveling around the world, trying to land a job or may be living with their parents still.

On the other hand, the 33 year olds goals could be vastly different. They may be wanting to start a family, have a baby, grow some roots by buying a house or they may be already working steadfastly on their career goals. Even though both may have similar values, the timing is off. Their immediate and short term goals don't yet align.

Another problem that could arise would be that the 18 year old is still trying to understand who they are as a person. They may have had only one long term relationship in their life at this point. They may not know what they truly even want in a partner. In this specific age range example, maturity of the 18 year old could be an issue. The way that an 18 year old would handle a life changing situation or even an insignificant situation could vary widely from what a 33 year old person would make.

So, is it wrong to date someone that is drastically younger or older than you? In the end, it comes down to is where they are in life. Are they at the same place? Do they want the same things? Do their goals, values, personalities and lifestyles complement each other? Each relationship is special and different its own way, but making sure that all these areas coexist harmoniously, is what truly matters.